


many small things all together

by ThinkingCAPSLOCK



Category: Gundam SEED
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-12
Packaged: 2017-12-23 05:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/922373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThinkingCAPSLOCK/pseuds/ThinkingCAPSLOCK
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>every part of the other was a gift in so many ways</p>
            </blockquote>





	many small things all together

**Author's Note:**

> Set in a very specific Alternate Universe where upon everything I like happens and everyone I like lives in ORB post war. In said AU, Shinn and Lunamaria are not together at the end of Destiny.

He liked her haircut.

Lunamaria's hair had been constantly growing out since they arrived, and after two months she decided it had gotten too long. She came back in the middle of the afternoon as Shinn and Rey raced each other in a video game. The door closed a little too loudly, she kicked her shoes into the boot tray (it always made a loud thud).

"Well?" she demanded before she had even appeared in the doorway. "What do you think?"

It was the exact same as it had been before she grew out a mullet, if Shinn had to be honest. Almost as uneven along the bottom, too. She had tucked a bit behind her ear. 

It made her eyes stand out.

"You look good, Lunamaria," Rey said. 

Shinn stared for another beat. And another.

"Of course it does! I have excellent taste," Lunmaria replied, crossing the room to sit beside the two of them.

Shinn glanced at her for the next two minutes. He lost the race to Rey.

-

She liked his anger.

Shinn had a short temper and a lot of air in his lungs to use to complain. He was learning to direct the anger, sure, but it was a slow process. His feet pounded on the stairs as Lunamaria sipped her tea. Something was wrong if he was making his footsteps that audible.

He stormed into the room. His eyes were narrow slits (she figured he had just lost another game to Rey).

"What's wrong, Shinn?"

"Shut up, Lunamaria," he growled. He went into the fridge and poured himself orange juice. He scowled the entire time.

Lunamaria found herself smiling. His cheeks puffed a bit when he was mad. She couldn't take him seriously at all. He was just being huffy.

"I said shut up," he muttered, walking to the door.

"I didn't say anything!" 

"You were thinking something."

He left the room. She traced the rim of her teacup until her drink got cold.

-

He liked her confidence. 

She never backed down from an insult and she was always the first to compliment herself. It got borderline arrogant but Shinn thought that she deserved it. Lunamaria praised herself on everything she did right. She criticized herself on the things she did wrong. She always thought she could do the job right.

"Do you want some help with that?" Shinn asked, as Lunamaria lifted the large armchair in her arms.

"What, are you kidding me Shinn? This weighs nothing!" 

Her arms strained and she bit her lip in concentration. Shinn leaned against the wall and watched her carry it from one end of the room to the other. Unwavering. Her eyes glowed. A few stray hairs moved from out behind her ear. She placed the chair down with a thud and wiped her hands on her shorts.

"See? Easy stuff, Shinn. Don't underestimate me!"

"Sorry," Shinn found himself apologizing. He wasn't sure why. He twisted his fingers together behind his back before she walked over.

"What, you think we're done here? We have more furniture to move around right now!"

She reached behind him and grabbed his hand, hauling him forward. Shinn stumbled. He stared at their hands and his breaths came a bit quicker than before.

-

She liked his black eyes.

If there was one thing that happened with some consistency in the neighbourhood, aside from Heine's gardening and Waltfeld's coffee, it was Shinn picking fights with Athrun. Lunamaria often watched them from her deck, seeing how quickly Shinn would escalate a minor disagreement because he didn't understand how to apologize. (He didn't seem to understand how to express affection either, since he was clearly fond of Athrun). 

Instead, he returned home nursing a bloody nose and a black eye. Lunamaria rose from her seat and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Ow."

"If you didn't ask for it he wouldn't hit you, you know," Lunamaria commented. They walked inside, making their way to the bathroom. Shinn would sit on the closed lid of the toilet as Lunamaria removed bandages and painkillers. 

"He's so frustrating."

"You hit him first, like, constantly, Shinn. Why don't you just not do that?"

"I don't know," he muttered. "He's got a punchable face."

Lunamaria bent over and started dabbing away blood. Shinn flinched. Lunamaria took her time, studying the way the bridge of his nose met his face and the way his eyes slowly turned purple around the edges. She smoothed back his bangs, slowly. Only to check if he was hiding any injuries on his forehead. 

What was she even doing? Shinn was fine. She gave him the bottle of painkillers and tried to clear her thoughts. 

He grabbed the bottom of her shirt when she turned to leave.

"Thanks," he said.

"Anytime," she replied. 

His cheeks were red. So were hers. He didn't let go of her shirt and she searched his head for injuries a second time. 

-

He liked her voice.

There was nothing quite like listening to Lunamaria talk. She had an opinion on everything, and commentary to boot. She verbalized many of her thoughts because she wasn't sure how else to handle them.

Her voice squeaked when she got too excited and high pitched and she could roll her r's. She could command the room in about four seconds with a well timed joke. 

Right then he was listening to her talk about a television show.

"-and I can't believe that Susan did that to Saya! Just when I thought the two had learned to work together-"

Shinn was never going to watch this show. He wasn't even sure what show she meant. But she moved her hands and opened her mouth wide to express all of her emotions. Her lips would flatten with anger and purse when she was in deep thought. The side of her mouth tugged into a smile every time she said the word "believe". 

She had thousands of way to pronounce her exasperation. 

"Shinn? Are you even listening to me anymore?"

He met her eyes. She didn't look angry. Shinn was suddenly aware of how close they were and how nice she looked in light blue. He could touch her cheek right now and barely have to move his arm.

"Shinn!"

"Of course Lunamaria. Tell me more about Susan."

She shifted forward on the couch before she launched into another spiel. Their legs were touching and Shinn carefully studied her profile, wondering if maybe he should watch television with her more often.

-

She liked his smile.

It became less and less rare the longer they all lived together. Shinn had stages of smiling. There was the half smile he got when he was pleased, but trying not to show it (and failing). There was his regular smile that he gave to Rey when dinner was on time and when Athrun touched his hair. He grinned when he laughed. The final stage was when his eyes would light up and his grin would be wide and toothy, but this was so rare Lunamaria was sure she had imagined it. 

"Are you cold?" Shinn asked. Lunamaria and him were walking back from the store. She had goosebumps on her arms but she gave a shrug.

"I guess so. I don't feel particularly cold, but you know how it is. Breeze is cool today, isn't it?"

Shinn wasn't beside her. She turned. A few feet back he had stopped, putting down his bags and taking off his hoodie.

"Really, Shinn?" Lunamaria teased. "Do you think it's going to fit me? I'm much more muscular."

"I'll just put it back on if you don't want it. It's cold out."

Lunamaria walked back and took the sweater. "I'd hardly want your misplaced act of chivalry to go to waste. But don't think this gets you out of doing laundry this week."

Shinn groaned as she pulled the sweater on her shoulders. It was still warm. The two of them started walking again.

Lunamaria glanced at him and saw a different kind of smile on his face. She wasn't sure what to make of it. It hit his eyes and make his shoulders straighter and he seemed a bit older. 

He caught her eye. "Looks good on you, Luna."

She put an arm around his waist. 

"What are-"

"Oh please, like I'm going to let you complain about being cold after you gave me your sweater."

She hid her smile in his tshirt. She could feel his by the way he walked.

-

He liked the beach.

His feet were stuck in the sand along the water's edge, waves lapping at his legs. His pants were rolled to his knees and his socks and shoes were tossed a bit away. Shinn liked watching the water shift and move. It had been something he enjoyed as a child, and now, living even closer to the ocean, it was something he could enjoy every day.

The sunset that day was pink and red. It reminded him of Lunamaria, bright and powerful and probably in need of being toned down just a bit. It was her pink hair and red shirts and blue eyes. 

"Hey Shinn!"

Lunamaria leaned down over him, startling Shinn into falling onto his back. She laughed (it filled the air and was louder and better than all the sounds of the ocean, he thought). 

"Rey asked me to make sure you were doing okay. He said you'd been at the beach all day!"

Lunamaria sat down beside him, kicking off her sandals. She was dressed in white and blue and had a headband holding back locks of her hair. Their shoulders were pressed together. There was a brown basket to her other side that Shinn wanted a better look at.

"Yeah, I took a nap earlier. Guess time got away from me."

"Lazing about, as usual."

Her words were accusing but her tone said something else. He felt the corners of his lips turn up. The sunset reflected in her eyes. She glowed.

"I'm glad we're here," she said. Her voice was quiet, but honest. Her eyes gazed up at the sky, where the stars and satellites were just beginning to appear through the waves of colour. Shinn watched her face as she took in everything. He felt his cheeks heating up again. She was beautiful.

"Anyway, I brought you dinner, since I figured you weren't clever enough to pack yourself something," Lunamaria began. She turned to the basket. 

A bit of hair fell from behind her ear again and he reached out to brush it back.

"Luna."

"Hm?"

The moment she turned around to face him, he leaned forward and kissed her.

-

She liked the beach, too.


End file.
